6. Personal Computer, 1975

The impact: As desktop computers grew more sophisticated, they reprogrammed virtually every aspect of the daily office routine.

7. MCI Mail, 1983

Email was a novelty when MCI debuted this tool for business use. At the time, workers preferred low-tech communication methods like interoffice envelopes (remember those red strings?).

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The impact: MCI Mail fizzled out in 1994, but the underlying technology influenced key email products from Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google.

8. Aeron Chair, 1994

Herman Miller hit upon another office-furniture breakthrough with this transformative desk seat, which helped popularize ergonomic design and became a dotcom-boom status symbol.

The impact: The Aeron remains one of the country’s best-selling chairs, though copycats abound and some experts question its health benefits.

9. Coworking, 2005

Just because you’re self-employed doesn’t mean you have to spend the day alone. That was the idea behind the first coworking space, created by a programmer in San Francisco. It had eight desks and offered group lunches and activities.

The impact: WeWork launched five years later and soon took the concept mainstream.

10. Slack, 2013

Email-fatigued workers longed for a better way to talk to each other. Enter this social-media-inspired communication tool, which has made office chat more effective (and fun).

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The impact: To be determined. Slack could prove revolutionary—or simply give way to the next short-lived office upgrade.

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A version of this article appeared in the September 2017 issue of Fast Company magazine.

About the author

Kim Lightbody is an editorial assistant at Fast Company, where she does all sorts of editorial-related things for both print and web.